Just a Joke
by iExperiment
Summary: Futakuchi convinces Koganegawa to prank Sakunami while at a team sleepover, but it ceases to be a joke when the libero disappears in the middle of the night. (T for swearing and mentions of blood.)


"Alright, Obara, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Then I dare you to prank call Nametsu."

"Ack, seriously?"

Onagawa gave his teammate a twisted grin that was at odds with his normally sleepy expression. "You had your chance to avoid it, but you picked dare."

"Ugh, fine." Obara sighed. "But when she inevitably finds out and gets cranky, I'm pointing her your way." He got up and dug his cell phone out of his bag where it lay against the wall with the rest of the team's. The other boys crowded around him while he punched in their manager's number as slowly as possible.

"C'mon, man, hurry up." Futakuchi urged, looking way more excited than he should be. Obara sighed again.

' _He certainly does enjoy watching others suffer.'_

He pressed the call button and then put the phone on speaker while his teammates shushed each other, making more noise than if they'd just left each other alone. He cleared his throat, both warming up for his act and warning them to shut up.

The phone clicked.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this the Amano household?" he asked, in his best impression of a squeaky-voiced older woman. Onagawa was already snickering behind his hand and Futakuchi smacked him on the shoulder to shush him.

"I'm calling for Keiko." Obara added.

"Um, no, this is the Nametsu household-"

"Wonderful, wonderful. How have you been, Keiko dear?"

"Ma'am, I think you have the wrong number-" Nametsu tried again.

"How's your mother doing?" he continued, pitching his voice even higher as Jingo covered his mouth to muffle a snort. "I heard about the car accident last week; your grandfather and I were so worried. And how is school going? Are you keeping up with your homework?"

"Um, yes I am - I mean – there was no-" Nametsu stammered, sounding completely flustered. Across from him, Koganegawa had covered his face so she wouldn't hear him laughing. Obara grinned as an idea suddenly struck him.

"Oh, I almost forgot about your song!"

"My what?"

"You were going to sing your song for me, dearie. The one that you said you were learning for choir."

Onagawa flashed him a thumbs up and he smirked. Truth or dare was something of a time-honored tradition at Dateko sleepovers. It had become an unspoken deal over the years that whoever took on the riskiest dare, or managed the most impressive results with their dare, won a prize which varied from year to year. If he could get their normally businesslike manager to actually sing over the phone for a complete stranger, Obara was pretty sure he had the prize in the bag. Not to mention a stunt like that would earn him the admiration of the whole team for weeks, which wasn't too shabby either. Jingo quietly scooted closer to him, his own phone out and ready to record.

"But I'm not in choir." Nametsu protested. "I keep trying to tell you, you have the wrong number-"

"Now, now, no need to be shy, Keiko dear." Obara faked a sniffle. "And I was so looking forward to hearing it, too; we get to see so few of your recitals…"

"But I'm not…oh, never mind." Nametsu sighed. "I guess I could sing for you." She was no doubt hoping that, if she gave up and sang something, the nutty old woman on the other end of the phone would finally let her hang up. Obara held his breath, hardly able to believe that his ridiculous act was actually about to pay off. Nametsu cleared her throat and hummed a few bars of a tune; a song from The Wizard of Oz, if he wasn't mistaken.

"Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high, there's a land that I heard of once…"

He hadn't realized that she was such a good singer. She had a surprisingly deep voice when she sang, but Obara thought it was rather pretty.

As she hit the fourth line, though, Futakuchi, who up to this point had been absolutely shaking with mirth, couldn't contain himself anymore and let out a bark of laughter. He clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. The singing came to an abrupt stop.

"What the hell- Futakuchi, is that you?!"

"Crap." he muttered.

"Busted." Onagawa suddenly looked anxious, despite the fact that the whole thing had been his idea.

"You jerks!" Nametsu screeched at them, Obara holding the phone as far away as possible and wincing. "I oughta come down there and kick all your asses right now! You all are dead Monday, you hear me?!"

"Kinda hard not to when you shriek like that!" Futakuchi shot back, abandoning his attempt to be quiet. "Are you a girl or a bird?"

"ExCUSE ME?!"

Obara yanked the phone away from him and hurriedly punched the end call button. The gym abruptly fell silent.

"She's gonna murder us all Monday." Onagawa said eventually.

"And who's fault is _that_?" Obara shot back.

"Please tell me that you got that." Futakuchi demanded loudly over their bickering. When Jingo nodded he pumped his fist in glee. "Yeesss! Text that to me right now. I'm making that my ringtone."

"You know she'll destroy you when she finds out." Aone said, the first thing he'd said since the game had started. Futakuchi grinned in response and he sighed heavily.

" _If_ she finds out." Futakuchi dug his phone out of his bag and swiped a finger across the screen. "She really does screech like a bird some days though." he mumbled. "What a pain in the neck." Aone raised a nonexistent eyebrow at him. He hunched over and scowled back, reddening slightly. "What?" Aone stared at him for a long minute before finally looking away.

"Nothing."

Futakuchi tossed his phone back into his bag and leaned back, bracing himself with both arms. "But man, I'm surprised Sakunami slept through all that." They both glanced behind him to where Dateko's libero lay buried in a mess of blankets, snoring softly. He shook his head. "That kid could sleep through a tornado, seriously." Aone nodded in agreement as the two scooted back over to rejoin the group.

Obara rested a hand over his heart and exhaled loudly. "Well, _that_ was fun. But seeing as we all now have a limited time to live…" The other boys snickered. "I guess we better get back to business. Futakuchi. Truth or dare?"

"Dare." he answered without hesitation.

"Okay, then I dare you to hold your breath for as long as you can."

"That's it?" Futakuchi began, but Obara cut him off with a nasty smile.

"Considering my dare got ruined because you couldn't be quiet, it's only fair that you have to do something that requires you to actually close your mouth for a few minutes, right?"

"Ohhhh." Onagawa and Jingo both taunted, Jingo a bit quieter out of (slight) respect for the older boy.

Futakuchi looked greatly offended. "Why you-"

"Starting now." Obara informed him pleasantly, starting a timer on his phone. Futakuchi sputtered indignantly for a moment before taking a huge breath and clamping his mouth shut. For a while the only sounds in the gym were the ticking timer and everyone else breathing; but after a bit Futakuchi started to look a bit red-faced and Koganegawa started to look anxious.

"Futakuchi-sempai, maybe you should call it quits-" he began, but the other boy made a furious slicing motion at him and continued holding his breath.

"If you break my concentration, I'll kill you." Onagawa informed Kogane, with a terrifyingly accurate imitation of one of Futakuchi's nastier facial expressions. "Or something like that, I assume." he added, his face settling back into its usual melancholy look as the other boy shuddered. The silence continued for a little longer, until Futakuchi finally let out a huge gasp and sat back, shoulders heaving as he panted for breath.

"Wow! Two minutes and thirty-five seconds!" Obara shut the timer off as the other boys all clapped. "Very impressive. I didn't know you could go that long without talking."

"Screw you." Futakuchi wheezed. He winced and pressed a fist to his temple. "Ow. That actually kinda made me dizzy."

Aone reached across the circle and patted his knee in a conciliatory manner. Futakuchi huffed and straightened up. "Okay, my turn." He learned forward and steepled his fingers, looking rather evil. "Koganegawa."

The younger boy gulped and sat up straighter, hands on his knees. "Y-yes."

"Truth or dare."

Kogane cast his eyes around the circle briefly before steeling himself. Members of the Iron Wall did not chicken out and choose truth; although he had a feeling that Futakuchi-sempai could make either option extremely uncomfortable. There was no telling what he'd ask if given the chance. Maybe dare was the safer bet after all.

"Dare."

The upperclassman tapped a finger against his lip, looking thoughtful, then suddenly glanced over his shoulder. He turned back around with a nasty grin that sent actual shivers down Kogane's spine. "I dare you…" The setter held his breath.

"…to move Sakunami."

"…Huh?"

"Pick him up and move him. Leave him somewhere else in the school." His sempai's grin was getting bigger. "Then we'll wake him up. It'll be funny to see how confused he'll be when he realizes he's not in the gym anymore. Maybe we can even scare him on his way back."

Kogane blanched. "Isn't that kind of mean?" From the uneasy glances they were exchanging, Jingo and Obara were both thinking the same thing.

Futakuchi scoffed. "He's not a baby." He somehow managed to look down on the setter despite being slouched over. "He's tougher mentally than you, to be honest, so he'll probably think it's funny."

Kogane ignored the jibe as best he could and cast about for another reason to get out of the dare. He felt bad picking on the smaller boy, who was never anything but supportive and kind despite the former's lack of skill and experience. Abandoning him in the dark and cold of the school when he was sleeping so peacefully, trusting them all to watch over him, felt wrong. Even if it was just a joke.

"Is that even possible though? I mean, won't he wake up as soon as I pick him up?"

Onagawa snorted. "Not likely. This is your first team sleepover so you wouldn't know, but once that guy falls asleep it's next to impossible to wake him up. He has the darned loudest alarm I've ever heard. Nothing else makes him so much as twitch."

"C'mon, Kogane." Obara prodded kindly. "You don't have to take him far. Anyways, it's you so I doubt he'll be too mad, even if he doesn't think it's that funny."

Somehow that didn't make him feel any better, but his sempais were all watching him expectantly, so he got up slowly and approached the snoring pile of bedding. True to testimony, Sakunami barely twitched as he pulled the blankets off him, simply sighing and settling against Kogane's chest as he lifted him. The trusting way he curled up in his arms made him feel even worse.

Futakuchi held the gym door open for him. "Remember, ya gotta leave him at least a little ways away. It's no fun if he doesn't get at least a little disoriented."

"You really are an asshole sometimes, Futakuchi." Onagawa said. The other boy snorted and rested a hand on his hip.

"Says the guy who's gonna get Obara massacred by Nametsu on Monday."

"…True enough."

"Pot. It's the kettle calling." Aone said suddenly. "You're black."

The other boys stared at him for a minute, then burst out laughing.

"Seriously." Obara said. "Are you really one to talk, Pantaloons?"

Their laughter followed Kogane out into the dark hallway, Sakunami still snoring contentedly in his arms despite the racket. They wandered for a few minutes, Kogane trying to decide on a decently comfortable place to leave him and still not feeling very confident about navigating the large school. Eventually they ended up near the lobby, where he spied a couch outside one of the offices.

' _At least he'll be comfortable. And there's lights from all the copiers and phones, so it's not like it's totally dark.'_

Feeling a little better about the situation now, he carefully lay Sakunami down and adjusted one of the small pillows under his head. He studied him for a moment, starting as the other boy turned over suddenly in his sleep. Sakunami hugged his knees to his chest and Kogane realized abruptly he was probably cold, having been rudely yanked from his several layers of blankets and left only in shorts and a t-shirt. He quickly unzipped the hoodie he was wearing and lay it over him, tucking it under him at his shoulders and side. Sakunami sighed deeply and snuggled further down into it, completely burying the lower half of his face. Kogane watched him anxiously for a few minutes longer, then jogged back to the gym, proud of himself for only making two wrong turns the whole way.

When he pushed open the door to the gym everyone turned to look at him. "Geez, you took forever." Futakuchi-sempai exclaimed. "Where'd you leave him, Timbuktu?"

The tiniest prick of irritation jabbed at him – this had been _his_ idea, after all – but his underclassman meekness quickly kicked back in.

"I left him on the couch in the lobby."

"Sheesh, after all that protesting you really took him far, didn't you?" Futakuchi looked almost impressed, and for a moment Kogane's desire to please and to have his peers like him won out against his guilt. Futakuchi waved him back to the circle.

"We'll go try to scare him in a little bit. C'mon, it's your turn. Hurry up."

He obeyed, ignoring the tiny pang of guilt still nudging at him. Onagawa-sempai had said it was impossible to wake Sakunami up once he was asleep. He'd probably stay there, fast asleep in the lobby until the game was over, and then they could bring him back and put him back into his little nest and he'd never even know they'd moved him. The thought comforted him, so Kogane pushed the thought of Sakunami's peaceful, trusting face out of his mind. This was a sleepover. They were supposed to be having fun.

"Aone-sempai, truth or dare?"

* * *

The gym was still full of noise a whole two hours later, although slightly more subdued now. Futakuchi stifled a yawn and swiped open his phone.

"Okaaay, kiddos. It's already two a.m. and we're all gonna be working our butts off again tomorrow, so we better call it a night."

The other boys all mumbled agreements, Jingo letting out a huge, noisy yawn. Futakuchi was a little surprised that the first year had lasted that long; he wasn't that energetic a person to begin with. And speaking of unenergetic first years… He stood up, his back cracking as he stretched.

"Hey, Kogane, we better go get Sakunami. He never did wake up after all."

"Well, we figured as much." Onagawa snickered.

Kogane let out a tiny huff of relief. Futakuchi-sempai seemed to have forgotten about the part of the dare where they attempted to scare the libero, which was just fine by him. The later in the night it got, the more his sempai's antics were starting to wear on his nerves.

The two ducked out into the dark hallway and Kogane shivered slightly. Was it just him, or was it colder out there than it had been earlier? The sooner they got Sakunami and got back to their warm beds the better.

Futakuchi stopped at the edge of the lobby, idly checking his phone while Kogane retrieved Sakunami. There was a good night text from his mother, which he ignored, and half a dozen or so furious texts from Nametsu, all threats and a lot of swearing. He smirked. For such a cute girl, she had a terrible mouth. The first time that she had gotten mad enough at him that she swore, she had startled the whole team into silence, even Kamasaki-san.

He sent her back a few sassy emojis and shoved the phone in his pocket. "Oi, Kogane, hurry up! Grab him and let's go, it's freezing out here and I'm beat."

The other boy was standing frozen beside the couch, staring down at it. "I…I can't."

He sighed. _'Not this again.'_ "Look, he's not gonna wake up, okay, promise. Now let's go."

"No, you don't understand. I can't." Kogane looked at him with wide eyes. "He's not there."

Futakuchi stared at him for a long second, uncomprehending. "Whaddya mean he's not there?"

"I mean he's gone." Kogane said frantically. "I left him right here on the couch and he's not here anymore!"

Futakuchi strode over to him and stared down at the empty couch, a small indent in the cushions the only indication that anyone had been laying there. For all of five seconds he looked panicked, and then he relaxed.

"No big deal. He probably went to the bathroom. Or we missed him somehow and he's already back at the gym. C'mon, let's head back and we can check the bathrooms on the way."

That decided, he shoved his hands in his pockets and strode back towards the hall, hunching his shoulders. "Man, it's fricking cold in here, what the heck."

Kogane reluctantly turned to follow him, unable to completely shake the anxious feeling clinging to him. _'I sure hope you're right, sempai.'_ An icy gust of wind against the back of his neck made him shiver violently.

' _Wait, wind?'_

"Hey, Futakuchi-sempai?"

Futakuchi glanced over his shoulder. "Hm?"

"Why is the front door open?"

His eyes widened a fraction. "What?"

"The front door. It's open a little. That's why it's so cold."

Futakuchi pushed past him, eyes narrowed. Kogane jogged after him, the anxious feeling in his gut worsening.

Sure enough, one of the front doors was slightly ajar, something thick and white keeping it from closing completely. Futakuchi frowned.

"What's that? A sweatshirt?"

"It's mine." Kogane said abruptly, an odd note in his voice.

"What?"

"It's my sweatshirt. I left it with Sakunami so he wouldn't get cold."

The older boy's eyebrows knit together. "Maybe he went outside for some fresh air and it got caught? Still, it's weird he wouldn't notice, and he gets cold so easily it's hard to believe that he'd go outside without it when it's so windy out…" His voice trailed off as he got lost in thought, index finger tapping a rhythm against his thigh. He shrugged abruptly. "Well, only one way to find out."

He shoved the door open and stepped outside, scooping up the sweatshirt on his way and thrusting it into Kogane's arms as the younger boy followed him out. The overhead lights cast strange shadows on everything and Kogane gulped. Their vaunted school looked a lot less impressive and lot more terrifying in the dark.

Futakuchi cupped his hands to his mouth. "Hey, Sakunami! You out here?" Kogane jumped at his sudden shout.

The only response was a chorus of crickets chirping from somewhere out in the grass. As they stood waiting the wind gusted again and Kogane quickly started pulling his sweatshirt back on. As he pulled his arm through the sleeve something on the cuff caught his eye. The chill it sent up his back had nothing to do with the wind.

"Hey, sempai?"

"What now?"

"Does that look like blood to you?" He was vaguely surprised that his voice didn't shake more, but his attention was more focused on the smear of red all over the sleeve of his hoodie.

"Gimme that." Futakuchi-sempai snapped, yanking his wrist out so he could see. A muscle in his jaw worked as he stared at the stain. He let go of Kogane's arm, and the look on his face scared Kogane ever more than the blood.

"We need to get the others."

They sprinted back to the gym, now mostly dark as everyone got ready to sleep. Futakuchi threw the heavy door open violently. "Hey, everybody up." He was met with a chorus of groans.

"What now?" Obara asked exasperatedly.

"Sakunami's missing."

They all stared at him blankly.

"What?"

"He's not on the couch where Kogane left him, the jacket that Kogane lent him was caught in the front door, and there's what looks like blood on the sleeve." Futakuchi said rapidly, to increasingly horrified stares from the other boys. "Does that explain it a little more?"

Obara and Onagawa exchanged shocked looks before quickly scrambling to their feet. Aone put down the book he had been reading by flashlight and joined them, Jingo on his heels and looking wide awake.

Kogane barely felt the cold air this time, so anxious was he to find the missing libero.

' _I knew this was a bad idea, I knew it, why didn't they listen to me…'_

' _Why didn't I just say no.'_

"We'll split up and look for him." Futakuchi said tersely, interrupting his panicky train of thought. "But stay where everybody else can see you; I'm not having anyone else up and vanishing." They all nodded stiffly and dispersed, leaving Futakuchi and Aone alone. Futakuchi chewed his lower lip furiously, tasting blood.

"If anything happens to him because of a stupid prank I am never going to forgive myself." he said, tone vicious.

Aone squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. Futakuchi shrugged him off, hands shaking; Aone wasn't sure if it was from the cold or anger.

"Sempais!" Jingo called suddenly.

The two traded startled looks before rushing to join him around the corner of the school, where the other second years were crowded around staring at something.

"What?" Futakuchi panted, and then inhaled sharply, his eyes taking in the streak of red on the side of the building. His stomach turned over violently, even as a cold, calculating voice in the back of his mind whispered, _'It's got to be Sakunami's. Think about it. The blood was on the sleeve, which means it's his arm that's bleeding. The stain on the wall is about the right height. And there's a lot of it, too. He's hurt. He's hurt bad. He's hurt bad and it's all your fault.'_

"-takuchi-sempai. Futakuchi-sempai!"

He started. Four anxious faces and one impassive one stared back at him.

"Sempai, are you alright?" Jingo asked hesitantly.

' _It's all. Your. Fault.'_

He took a slow, deep breath and held it while he counted to ten in his head, trying to regain some semblance of calm. When he could trust himself to speak without his voice shaking he said, "That's it. Everybody back inside. I'm calling Coach and the cops."

They obeyed silently, all except for Kogane who stood staring at the streak of red, hands clenched into shaking fists. Futakuchi put a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"C'mon, Kogane." he said quietly. "Let's go call Coach." The younger boy wiped his eyes and nodded stiffly.

On the way back to the school entrance they passed under a large tree; one of its lower branches snagged Futakuchi's hair and he smacked it away in a silent fury. They were currently unsupervised because, in years past, Moniwa-san and his peers had proven that they could be trusted to stay out of trouble if left alone at the school; and because Coach Oiwake lived close enough that he could easily drive over if they needed anything. The teachers approved because they thought it taught the boys independence and self-governing. Futakuchi found himself wishing that the adults had trusted this year's team a little less; it was obvious that he couldn't be relied on to look after his teammates like Moniwa-san had. Now because of a stupid dare that was all his idea, one of their friends – one of their _younger, smaller_ friends, that _he_ was supposed to protect – was missing and hurt and it was all. His. Fault.

Futakuchi bent over, clutching at his chest with one hand. Suddenly it was difficult to breathe. His vision swam; all he could see was red. Red on the wall and red on Kogane's jacket and-

He vaguely heard Kogane call out "Aone-sempai!" and someone grabbed his shoulders and said his name, but they sounded so far away and he couldn't make himself respond, couldn't barely hear them over the roar in his ears. His knees shook and he stumbled to the side to brace himself against the tree.

Just as he thought he might actually pass out, a loud shriek made him jump and something large and dark hurtled out of the tree above him. It landed full on Aone's back as he bent to give Futakuchi his hand, wrapping its arms around his neck. The other boys screamed and clutched at each other in terror.

In a move that Futakuchi would've found more impressive if he had been able to see it clearly, Aone seized the creature by the arms and yanked it over his head, wrapping it in a bone-crushing hug as it dropped in front of him. The creature squealed in terror.

"Aone-sempai, wait! It's me! It's just me!"

The thunder in Futakuchi's ears immediately quieted.

"Sakunami?"

* * *

 _(Two hours ago)_

Sakunami blinked drowsily and stretched. It was pitch black and he desperately wanted to just roll over and go back to sleep, but his brain was getting more and more insistent about the fact that his toes were cold and he needed to do something about it. Reluctantly he sat up, meaning to quickly adjust his blankets and lay right back down, but his hand slipped and he nearly pitched off the side of the…bed? No, couch…wait. He sat up, heart pounding. This wasn't the gym. And it wasn't pitch black, there were small red and blue lights everywhere and…oh. He exhaled slowly, his pulse slowing.

' _This is the lobby. I'm still inside the school, then. There's no need to panic.'_

What he was doing in the lobby, however, was another story. He stood up slowly, shivering. It was much colder out there than in the gym.

Something fell to the floor behind him, startling him as it brushed his ankles. He bent to pick it up; as he straightened back up heavy hands closed around his shoulders.

"YAAAAH!"

"Sakunami!"

He froze, both hands in the air, and slowly peeked over his shoulder.

"…Coach?"

Oiwake frowned down at him, arms crossed. Most people found Dateko's coach to be intimidating; Sakunami, on the other hand, felt a rush of relief at the sight of him.

"What are you doing all the way out here?"

"Um. Sleeping, I guess."

Oiwake raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. "Why on earth?"

He considered for a moment. There was really only one probable explanation.

"Futakuchi-sempai, probably. They were all getting ready to play truth or dare when I went to bed."

Oiwake groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I swear, sometimes that boy…" He didn't finish his thought, which was probably for the best. Despite his tough exterior, Oiwake was incredibly devoted not only to volleyball, but also to his players. Sakunami knew he cared about all of them much more than he showed, but that didn't mean that some of them didn't wear on his nerves occasionally.

' _And by "some of us", I mean Futakuchi-sempai and Koganegawa-kun. And by "occasionally", I mean a lot. And speaking of Koganegawa-kun…'_

He crouched and picked the sweatshirt up off the floor again. _'…I think this is his.'_ He stared at it for a moment, the corners of his mouth twitching into a small smile.

Oiwake stomped past him, muttering, "I'm going to give that boy a piece of my mind, honestly. What if someone had broken in…"

Well, technically he had a point, but Sakunami privately thought it was pretty unlikely that anyone would ever try breaking into their school. He wasn't going to mention that, though; Oiwake seemed like he was annoyed about something else so Futakuchi's antics were probably getting to him more than they usually did.

He himself was more exasperated than anything; certainly it was cold and tiresome being dragged out of his bed like that in the middle of the night, but as Futakuchi's pranks went it was surprisingly tame. At least he hadn't ended up with Sharpie all over his face like the last time. Having to go back to school the next day with his teammates', how should he put it, "creative" artwork all over his face was embarrassing to put it lightly.

It was awfully considerate of Koganegawa-kun to leave his sweatshirt with him, though. He'd have to thank him. Although it also indicated that Kogane had been the one to actually pull the prank on him; which he didn't mind but it did mean that he'd probably have to console the other boy a little. He could be extremely sensitive to other people's opinions of him, so he probably thought Sakunami would be mad at him.

He shook his head in amusement. _'It was just a joke. Nothing to be upset over.'_ If only he had the nerve to convey that to Oiwake, who was still grumbling under his breath. Sakunami trailed after him meekly, but as he turned the sweatshirt over in his hands, an idea started to form.

"Hey, Coach? About Futakuchi-sempai…"

Oiwake glanced back at him. "What is it? And don't try to get him out of it-"

"No, not that." he said quickly.

"Then what?"

"Will you help me with something first?"

* * *

"It may take a while for them to come looking for me, though."

"Good thing I have plenty to do to occupy myself." Oiwake got up from his chair in the corner of the room. "I'm going to grab some paperwork and move my truck. This won't work if they realize I'm here."

"Kay."

Sakunami pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on them and wiggling his toes against the office chair's rough surface. They were in one of the back offices, one that housed the TV monitors for the many security cameras on campus. It was the perfect spot to watch his plan unfold. He had just forgotten to account for the fact that no one was likely to come looking for him for at least another hour or two. He wished with some amusement that they had thought to abandon him with his cell phone so at least he would have something to do.

' _I get to hang out and poke around in the security room, though, so I guess that's pretty cool at least.'_

Oiwake returned some minutes later with a large stack of papers. They sat in silence, Sakunami dozing off a few times as he kept an eye on the gym cameras. At eleven minutes after two the rest of the team finally showed signs of turning for the night. Sakunami sat up, suddenly wide awake.

"They're coming."

Oiwake put his pen down and leaned over him to look. Sakunami couldn't help grinning. It was finally starting. Then an awful thought hit him. "Oh no, what if they call the police right away though?"

"I thought about it, but knowing them they'll try to fix it themselves first."

"True." He snickered. "Especially Futakuchi-san, since it was his idea."

Oiwake stared at him and then shook his head. Sakunami shrank back a little under his critical gaze. "I-is something wrong?"

"You aren't even a little mad at him?"

He turned back and stared at the monitors, watching as Futakuchi and Koganegawa raced back to the gym, having found the blood on the sweatshirt.

"No, not really. It was just a joke. The school was locked; the only people who could get in would be staff so it's not like there was anything to worry about there."

Onscreen his teammates spilled out into the cold, obviously looking for him, and something warm bloomed in his chest.

"And anyways…"

* * *

As soon as his teammates were around the corner of the school, Sakunami hopped out of the chair and ducked into the hallway. He had mere moments for this part of the plan; once they found the blood on the wall there was little doubt that his friends would call the police. They'd all go to rather extravagant lengths for a good prank but getting the police called in was going just a little too far.

He pushed open the front door and immediately regretted it. The wind had gotten worse over the past two hours.

' _At least this part of the plan will be over quickly.'_

"Coach." he hissed as Oiwake followed him out. "Can you give me a boost up?"

Oiwake sighed a little but nodded, crouching and lacing his fingers together so Sakunami could place his foot on them. He easily lifted him and Sakunami scrambled into the tree, bark biting into his bare legs.

"Be careful." Oiwake instructed him sternly. "I won't have you falling out of a tree and breaking something, no matter how amusing I may find all of this."

Sakunami saluted him sharply.

"Yes sir."

They heard voices coming towards them and Oiwake ducked back inside the front doors while Sakunami scooted higher into the tree.

Everyone looked miserable, especially Kogane, and his heart clenched. _'Just a few more seconds and I can tell them the truth.'_ He held his breath as they passed beneath the tree, willing himself not to shiver and give himself away.

' _Thankfully Futakuchi-sempai and Koganegawa-kun are at the back of the group, since that's who I wanna scare the most.'_ He crouched slowly, planning a route down that would end with the fewest possible scratches.

Just as he braced himself to jump, though, something went wrong. Futakuchi-sempai had come to a stop below him and seemed to be having trouble breathing. He looked rather like he was having a panic attack. Sakunami felt a jolt of horror tear through him. _'That is so not part of the plan.'_

Aone-san came back for him immediately, the others on his heels.

' _It's now or never.'_

He took a deep breath and jumped, letting out a shrill yell. The effect was immediate and hilarious: Onagawa-sempai and Obara-sempai both screamed like girls and grabbed at each other; Jingo-kun turned deathly pale and clutched at the two of them.

Unfortunately he hadn't accounted for Aone suddenly being right where he had planned to land. Sakunami landed squarely on top of him. Feeling himself slip, he reached out and wrapped his arms around the other boy's neck. His sigh of relief was cut short as Aone suddenly grabbed him by the wrists and flipped him over his head. He barely had time to think, _'This may not have been my best idea ever.'_ , before he was caught in a violent bear hug that crushed the breath out of him.

' _Definitely not a good idea.'_ he thought desperately. He managed to wiggle loose just enough that he could get enough air in his lungs to yelp, "Aone-sempai, wait! It's me! It's just me!"

Immediately the grip on his chest eased. Wheezing, he craned his neck to see a pair of horrified brown eyes staring back at him. _'I probably scared the crap out of him,'_ he thought guiltily, _'considering how he just tried to flatten me.'_ He was glad Aone was still holding him, because the realization that he accidentally frightened the much larger, much stronger boy into attacking him made his limbs feel like jelly.

"Sakunami?"

Futakuchi-sempai slowly straightened, hands clenched into fists. He was shaking from head to toe.

"You…you…YOU ROTTEN LITTLE JERK!"

Sakunami yelped as Futakuchi threw himself at him and started shaking him violently by the front of the shirt. Aone grunted in disapproval and pulled Sakunami closer to his chest, which did nothing to deter his furious teammate.

"Where the hell have you been?! You had us all worried sick!"

"I'm sor-"

"You shouldn't have left him alone like that then."

Futakuchi started and let go of him. "…Coach?" His shoulders slumped in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm _here_ because of several rather angry texts I got from Nametsu earlier." Oiwake folded his arms over his chest and glared down his nose at them. Even Aone shrank back a little. "I come over to make sure you're behaving yourselves and what do I find? Don't you think that, just maybe, leaving Sakunami alone like that where he could be seen by anyone wandering by was maybe not such a good idea?" Futakuchi stared at his feet and didn't answer. Behind him the other boys traded guilty glances.

Before Oiwake could continue Aone gasped abruptly. He held Sakunami rather uncomfortably under one arm and took his hand, gently turning it over and examining it intensely.

"Oh! Aone-sempai, it's okay. I'm not hurt."

The tension drained out of Futakuchi's face at his words. "You're not…?"

"No. It was all a joke. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare everyone so badly."

He ducked his head shamefully. It hadn't turned out nearly as funny as he was hoping. Granted, he had tricked them into thinking he was injured so it really wasn't that funny to begin with, but he hadn't expected them to be so frantic over it. All his remorse couldn't quite drown out the warm feeling that was growing in his chest again, though. They were all friends, he was sure of that much, but to think that they cared that much…he dropped his head further to hide the smile that was threatening to appear.

Any reply Futakuchi might've had was interrupted by the sound of Kogane abruptly starting to bawl. He flung himself at Sakunami and wrapped his arms around his waist. Aone thankfully let go instead of playing tug-of-war with him a second time. The setter lifted him above his head like he was a small child and Sakunami was reminded out of nowhere of the opening scene of The Lion King. He stifled a laugh only because Kogane was seriously crying, and he doubted suddenly laughing at him would make him feel any better.

"I'b so sorry!" Kogane sobbed. "I didn't really wanna leeb you there!" Without warning he hugged Sakunami to his chest, tears and snot streaming down his face. Sakunami made a face and leaned away as far as he dared without being mean.

"Koganegawa-kun, it's okay, really. I'm fine." He held out his arm. "See? No blood. I'm totally fine."

"I'b so glab! I thod something really bad had happened to you."

"Wait, if you're not hurt, then…what was on the wall? And on Kogane's jacket?" Onagawa demanded suddenly. Sakunami laughed as Kogane gently set him down and wiped his eyes.

"Um, well, the stuff on the wall was just paint from one of the art classrooms. We figured in the dark it'd look enough like blood that it'd fool you guys. And the stuff on Koganegawa-kun's hoodie was ketchup from the cafeteria. I'm really sorry about that." he added quickly. "I'll wash it out for you."

Kogane blew his nose on his shirt, oblivious to the grossed-out face Obara made at him. "As long as you're okay, Sakunami-kun, I don't care about a dumb old sweatshirt." Sakunami smiled at him shyly.

"Hang on, _we_?" Obara interjected. "Coach, you were in on this?" They all stared at him in disbelief. It was almost impossible to imagine their taciturn coach participating in a _prank_.

"Yes. I was just going to yell at you. But Sakunami thought this would be funnier."

"It wasn't really though." The libero muttered. "I didn't think it'd scare everyone _that_ bad, especially Futakuchi-san." The image of their captain in the throes of a panic attack because of him still made his chest constrict painfully.

"I wasn't scared!" the other boy snapped. When everyone stared at him pointedly he muttered, "Kay, maybe a little." He looked away, reddening slightly. "I thought you were really hurt."

"Well maybe you should've thought of that beforehand." Oiwake said sternly. "What if someone had actually broken in and kidnapped him?"

"Um, Coach." Sakunami began awkwardly, but Oiwake ignored him.

"Look, I'm not trying to rag on you here – goodness knows you've all had enough of a scare tonight - but you guys are allowed to stay here overnight _alone_ on the condition that you look out for each other. That means sticking together. Leaving a sleeping teammate alone like that in plain view of outsiders is hardly what I'd call looking out for each other. You probably think I'm being overdramatic, but it's always better to be safe than sorry, don't you think?" He sighed. "And on top of that, harassing your poor manager that late at night? I can't take leave you lot alone for a minute. I have half a mind to make you run extra laps tomorrow."

Sakunami cringed. This was all having the exact opposite effect of what he had intended. He was trying to make his teammates feel better, not worse. Futakuchi, however, simply sighed.

"Fine. I'm not going to argue. It was irresponsible, I get that."

Oiwake's expression softened a fraction.

"I know you do. That's why I said half a mind-"

"Coach!" Kogane's sudden yell made them all jump. "If Futakuchi-sempai has to run extra laps, then so should I! The dare might've been his idea, but I carried it out, so…"

Futakuchi smacked his arm and hissed, "Shut up, you idiot, I was just about to get out of having to do it!"

"Oops."

Oiwake raised an eyebrow. "Did you really think I was going to scold him and let you get off scot-free?"

"Huh?"

"You were both responsible. You can both run."

' _If looks could kill,'_ Sakunami thought wryly, _'the glare he's getting from Futakuchi-san right now would drop him dead in his tracks.'_ As it was, the potential murder was interrupted by Aone stepping forward.

"If that's the case then I should, too. I'm vice-captain. I'm just as responsible for this team's wellbeing as Futakuchi is. I should've done something to stop him."

They all gawked at him.

"That…was quite a mouthful for you…" Onagawa said in a stunned voice, while Kogane oohed admiringly at his speech. Futakuchi looked impressed as well.

"Seriously. You're supposed to be keeping _me_ in line, man. Otherwise we're all in trouble." The two smiled at each other.

"Well, you're all in trouble anyways." Obara observed, and Futakuchi and Kogane both grimaced. He and Onagawa traded glances and the former raised his hand slightly to catch Oiwake's attention.

"We might as well all run extra laps. It's not like Futakuchi and Aone are the only upperclassmen here who should've been more responsible. Oh, uh, obviously that doesn't include you, Jingo, if you don't want to-"

"It's fine. I was going to volunteer anyways." the first year cut him off with a reassuring smile. He covered a yawn. "But can we worry about it tomorrow? I'm exhausted."

Futakuchi yawned as well. "Seconded. Okay everybody back inside." He shooed them all towards the school, grinning over his shoulder. "I guess you get to chill tomorrow and watch all of us run, huh, Sakunami?"

"No way!"

They all stopped. "Huh?"

"Sempai, what kind of a slacker do you take me for?"

"Huuh?"

Sakunami put his hands on his hips. "Like I'm going to laze around while you're all doing extra work."

"But you're the not the one who- oh, never mind." Futakuchi smiled exasperatedly. "Guess we really are gonna _all_ run." He pointed at him. "See, Kogane, what'd I tell ya? He's tough."

Sakunami flushed. _'Futakuchi-san was saying things like that about me to Koganegawa-kun?'_ He tried unsuccessfully to hide a grin. It was rare enough for the second year to praise them to their faces, much less to other people.

The weather had calmed during all the drama, but now as they headed back to the school the wind returned with a fury. Sakunami shivered violently, suddenly reminded of his poor state of dress. Something heavy dropped around his shoulders and he looked up to see Aone draping his jacket over him.

"A-Aone-sempai, you don't have to do that! It's not like it's that far to the door-"

He was interrupted by Futakuchi adding his own jacket on top of Aone's and shoving Sakunami's hands through the sleeves of first one jacket and then the other.

"Sem-pai…!"

"Oh, hush." Futakuchi said calmly, zipping it up as far as it would go. Since the jacket was meant for someone much taller, it meant Sakunami had to crane his neck uncomfortably to accommodate the high collar. He heard Onagawa snicker.

"We know how easily you get cold. I'm not having our precious libero getting sick because he was traipsing around in thirty-degree weather in shorts and a t-shirt." Futakuchi shoved him forward. "Now scoot."

He groaned but obeyed, his attempts to undo the zipper a bit complicated by his hands being covered by two sets of thick sleeves. At least they helped cover his face, red from embarrassment and pride at being called their "precious" libero.

"Sakunami-kun, let me!"

"Oh, uh, thanks." He arched his neck so Kogane could unzip the jacket without pinching him. The setter seemed lost in thought, and finally asked him somewhat anxiously, "So you really weren't scared at all?"

Oh. He might've known that's what he was thinking about. "Not really. I knew pretty much right away that I was still in the school, so there was no reason to think I was in any danger. Honestly the scariest part of the whole thing was when Coach Oiwake came out of nowhere and put his hand on my shoulder. I almost had a heart attack."

Oiwake grimaced guiltily behind him.

"And you're not mad?" Kogane asked hopefully.

Sakunami smiled at him. "Not at all. It was kind of funny, actually."

"I told you so." Futakuchi said under his breath. When Kogane made a face at him he crossed his arms defiantly. "If I'd thought he'd actually be scared, do you really think I would've told you to do it?" He looked away, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm a jerk," he mumbled, "but I'm not that much of a jerk."

Obara and Onagawa both smirked at him and he flushed, shoving them away as they ruffled his hair. "Oh, leave me alone."

Sakunami giggled. Oiwake watched him silently, recalling their conversation in the security office earlier.

" _It was just a joke. It's not like there was anything to worry about. And anyways…"_

"And anyways," the libero laced his fingers behind his back, beaming, "it's not like Futakuchi-san would ever do anything that would actually put any of us in real danger. So no, I wasn't scared at all."

They all stared at him. Futakuchi put a hand to his heart, mouth slightly agape. He looked like he might almost start crying. Aone patted his back comfortingly.

Obara shrugged. "Well, he's not wrong. We second years wouldn't have voted him captain if we thought he was a heartless asshole."

Now Futakuchi really did look like he was going to cry. "You guys-"

"Don't get us wrong." Onagawa said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You're definitely an asshole. But you're not heartless."

Futakuchi smacked his hand away. "Oh, screw off." But there was no bite to his words. He turned away and rubbed at his eyes hastily, then clapped his hands. "Okay, seriously, get your butts back inside. It's almost three in the fricking morning LET'S GO."

"Let's go let's go Dateko." Obara said, clapping his hands to the beat of their school cheer. Sakunami choked. They all burst out laughing while Oiwake just shook his head at them in exasperation.

They trooped back to the warm gym, still laughing and making jokes among themselves. Once everyone was in their respective nests, though, things quieted down quickly. Soon there was no sound to be heard except several exhausted teen boys snoring. Futakuchi, however, still lay awake. For the first time in over an hour, his heart rate had finally slowed to a normal pace. He finally felt like he could breathe again.

There was movement beside him as Aone rolled over and stared at him. Futakuchi jumped.

"I didn't realize you were still awake."

Aone didn't answer right away. Futakuchi was long since used to his wordless staring, and the two lay in a comfortable silence for several minutes.

"You can forgive yourself now."

"Huh?" Futakuchi frowned at him. "What are you-"

"You said if anything happened to Sakunami because of a stupid prank, you'd never forgive yourself. Nothing happened to him. You can forgive yourself now."

He gaped at him for a full minute before loud snoring behind him startled him out of it. He rolled over, narrowing his eyes at the guilty party.

Kogane had seemed worried that Sakunami would somehow up and disappear on him again if he looked away, and had awkwardly asked if they could hold hands while they slept. After a lot of stammering the red-faced libero had acquiesced, and now they lay next to each other fast asleep, Sakunami's small hand swallowed by Kogane's much larger one. They looked as if they didn't have a care in the world. Futakuchi exhaled slowly and rolled back over. Aone was looking at him expectantly.

"Okay." he said quietly enough that only Aone could hear him, not that there was anyone else awake to listen. "Okay, I forgive myself."

The other boy sighed contentedly and closed his eyes. "Good."

It was Futakuchi's turn to watch him for a while, taking in the way Aone's normally frightening face softened while he slept. He stretched his arms out a little, accidentally brushing Aone's fingertips with his own and shocking them both. He jerked his hands back, making a face, then shook his head and smiled at him fondly. "Where would I be without you?"

"Kamasaki-san probably would've strangled you the first day of practice." Aone said without missing a beat, and Futakuchi sputtered in laughter.

"Probably."

After a moment, he reached out again and linked his little finger with Aone's – thankfully without shocking him this time – and the other boy didn't object, simply tightened his grip.

They fell asleep like that, fingers intertwined; and the next morning when Obara and Onagawa laughed at them, Aone stared them down until the two decided maybe it was a good idea to be elsewhere. For his part Futakuchi was only slightly embarrassed; Aone was his best friend and he'd hold hands with him if he damn well wanted to. The other boy made him feel secure in a way that not many other people did. And secure and steady was something he had desperately needed last night.

* * *

And standing in front of the gym Monday afternoon, he thought to himself that he could use it right then as well; because there was an aura of absolute murder standing in the doorway, and her name was Mai Nametsu.

"Crap." he muttered. "I forgot about that."

"How could you _forget_?" Obara demanded, as he and Onagawa both hid behind him. "It's all I've been thinking about all day!"

Futakuchi pushed him away. "Don't hide behind me, you jerks! This is all your fault. For once I'm innocent."

"Yeah, but you're the one she heard laughing." Onagawa smirked. "For all she knows it was your idea."

"You guys suck." he fumed.

He edged up to the gym cautiously, the other two ducking behind him again, and smiled placatingly at their furious manager. "Morning, Nametsu-chan."

She rolled up her sleeve. "Don't you 'Nametsu-chan' me…!"

"Ow!"

Aone pushed the gym door open, letting Sakunami and Jingo in ahead of him and ignoring the complete chaos behind them. The rest of the second years entered a moment later, all holding their heads.

Nametsu followed, smiling sweetly. "Now that that's all taken care of, I hear you all have some extra laps to run."

They all groaned.

She frowned, standing next to the first years as the team started warming up. "How come you and Jingo-kun are running though, Saku-kun? I thought only the second years got in trouble."

"Technically, yeah. But we're no wimps." He and Jingo both grinned at her, and the other first year added, "This team is one for all and all for one, no matter how troublesome the 'one' may be."

"Oi! We can hear you, ya know!" Futakuchi yelled, shaking a fist at them.

Onagawa smirked behind his hand. "They're definitely talking about you, Futakuchi."

"Oh, shut up." he grumbled as they all lined up. "Ready? Go!"

Several minutes later they were all sitting in a circle on the gym floor breathing heavily.

"Ya know…" Sakunami said between gasps. Jingo looked at him questioningly. "The next time…that I get offended about our sempais cutting us a break…smack me, okay?"

The other boy huffed a laugh. "Deal."

Oiwake glanced at his watch. "Five minutes and then start doing serves."

"Yes." they all chorused, none of them particularly enthusiastically.

As they climbed to their feet, a song started playing from somewhere in the pile of bags in the corner of the gym.

"Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high, there's a land that I heard of once…"

They all froze. "Crap." Futakuchi breathed once again, as Nametsu very slowly turned to face them, shoulders stiff.

"…What is that?"

The boys exchanged terrified glances, then slowly backed off one by one until Futakuchi was standing alone.

"Traitors." he hissed.

"Omigosh, did you make it your _ringtone_?"

"Um." he said eloquently.

"Are. You. Kidding me. You jerk!"

"Ow!"

She stomped over to stand by Aone, face bright red, while Futakuchi crouched on the floor holding his head. The other second years stood at a safe distance looking sympathetic (but not enough to actually step in, of course). Aone eyed her, looking uncharacteristically nervous.

She glanced at him and then looked away. "What."

"…You sing pretty."

He didn't think it was possible for her to blush any harder than she already was, but somehow she did. He didn't even blink when she made a fist, nor did he when she very, very lightly punched him in the chest, hardly forceful enough to even be a tap much less an actual blow.

"We never mention this ever again."

"Kay."

"And the next time Futakuchi tries to pull crap like that you smack him for me."

He cracked the tiniest smile at that, and she returned it shyly, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"Deal."

* * *

 _Me - "I'm gonna write a quick oneshot about Sakunami and Futakuchi! Just something short and fun about my fave Dateko boys!"_

 _Me, two weeks and 24 pages later - "Oops."_

 _Aka I'm reaally glad to finally have finished this. Part one of my second attempt at doing NaNoWriMo. I'm at 21,974 words so far! Which is waay better than last year so I'm super pumped. Also I've been watching Dateko's chunk of the 2nd stage play on repeat as I worked on this and I just. Have to come to love them all so much I'm low-key crying. Futakuchi is such a piece of trash but he has completely stolen my heart. Also Sakunami is my precious son and I'm very proud of him. ...Anyways. Thanks for reading and now if you'll excuse me, I still have 28,000 words to write T,T_

 _Also thanks to Snavej for helping me out with word choices when it was late and I couldn't English anymore_ _❤︎_ _Go check her out when you've got a chance!_


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